HDB Jargon

As I am now house hunting for my own residence, I dived into the housing market and discovered that it had a lingo all of its own. There were so many abbreviations thrown around that I feel HDB should compile a dictionary to help first time home seekers understand what is going own.

After hours of research, I decided to post my work for my future reference and perhaps hope it helps other apprehensive first timers as well.

First and foremost, HDB flat types:

2 bedroom flat
Consists of 1 bedroom, kitchen, living room with 2 versions
2 ‘I’ (Improved) & 2 ‘S’ (Standard)

3 bedroom flat
Consists of 2 bedrooms, kitchen, living room with more than half a dozen versions
- 3 ‘A’ (Modified)
- 3 ‘NG’ (Modified)
- 3 ‘A’
- 3 ‘NG’ (New Generation)
- 3 ‘I’ (Modified)
- 3 ‘S’ (Simplified)
- 3 ‘I’ (Improved)
- 3 ‘STD’ (Standard)

4 bedroom flat
Consists of 3 bedrooms, kitchen, living room with a few versions
- 4 ‘A’
- 4 ‘NG’ (New Generation)
- 4 ‘S’ (Simplified)
- 4 ‘I’ (Improved)
- 4 ‘STD’ (Standard)

5 bedroom flat
Consists of 3 bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room, storeroom.
Master bedroom comes with attached bathroom.
5 ‘A’ & 5 ‘I’ (Improved)& 5 ‘S’ (Standard)

Executive flat
EA (Exec Apartment)
EM (Exec Maisonette) (double storey)
MG (Multi-Generation)

Miscellaneous
Jumbo – Joining 2 adjacent units. Usually a 3 room with a 3 room flat.

All this is before even touching on the regulations or other terms like CPF withdrawal limits, Cash Over Valuation (COV), Mortgages (HDB Loan, Bank Loan), SIBOR, SOR, Housing Grant, Additional Housing Grant, Income ceiling, BTO, DBSS, EC, Title Deed, Insurance, Conservancy Charges, etc.

Well, navigating housing jargon in Singapore should be a subject thought in school and examinable for O Levels!